Private laboratories will soon be allowed to conduct food safety tests in Qatar. Currently tests on food for human consumption are done by the Central Food laboratory under the Ministry of Public Health.
As part of ensuring the highest level of safety of both imported and local food, the central lab is set to adopt a number of new procedures, including a ‘Halal Laboratory’ system. With stringent quality controls, there is just less than 0.01% probability of inconsumable food entering the country, according to an expert.
“We will allow private laboratories to conduct human food tests, in the future. There are many who wish to open these private labs,” said Wasan Al Baker, Director of Food Safety and Environmental Health at the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH).
The food safety department had raised the issue to the Joint Human Food Control Committee which in turn adopted the proposed mechanism for the adoption of these laboratories in its meeting held on December 14, 2016.
“Presence of private food testing laboratories will greatly benefit importers by allowing them to conduct tests on samples of food that they want to import. It will help to ensure their compliance with the required specifications and standards before they start importing large shipments of such food. in case of a facility violates food regulations, an action will be taken to prevent it from happening again,” she said during an interview with Qatar News Agency.
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